This invention pertains to the art of travel record keeping systems, and more particularly to apparatus and control systems for retrieving and organizing travel reservation data. The invention is specifically applicable to retrieving and organizing pre-travel data for comparison use by corporate clients. The record keeping system apparatus may be implemented through use of a modified general purpose computer such as an IBM PC and will be described with particular reference thereto. It will be appreciated, though, that the invention has broader applications such as the ability to monitor company travel plans prior to the travel occurring to ensure that corporate employees use available discounts whenever possible without altering the service quality. Corporate travel policy compliance and contract compliance, indicated by system exception codes are also areas of application of the instant system. Corporate travel expenses may therefore be managed pro-actively, based on accurate pre-travel information.
In general, "pre-travel" includes the period between reservation initiation,through ticketing, and up to the actual departure time of the traveler.
The recent increase in the cost of business travel has forced many companies to focus on cost savings techniques for reducing the travel expense component of doing business. In general, travel expenses represent the third largest administrative expense within a corporation. Expense reductions in travel fall directly to the corporate bottom line, especially in situations where the same travel is received for less cost.
Lately, the travel industry has become highly competitive, characterized by airline deregulation and over-capacity. This situation offers numerous opportunities for companies to reduce costs, often while improving the quality of travel service to its travelling employees provided some action is taken before the actual travel takes place. Several keys have been identified for controlling company travel costs and improving travel quality including: monitoring company travel plans prior to the travel occurring and ensuring whenever possible, that employees use available discounts without altering the service quality; negotiating sustainable discounts and service upgrades with the appropriate travel vendors; and, managing corporate travel expenses pro-actively based upon accurate pre-travel information.
The importance of monitoring the company travel plans prior to the travel occurring is pivotal for insured use of available discounts without altering the service quality or, in the alternative, service level upgrades. In general, once ticketed, the opportunity for discounts and cost control is lost, although upgrades can occur until departure.
In the past, only historical travel reports were available, charting post-ticket itineraries. Alternately, a tedious procedure of manual sorting of pre-travel information was also used with limited success. As the number of persons at any given time increases, along with constant fare, schedule, and itinerary changes, the time constraints imposed by the manual methods rendered those schemes impractical and virtually useless.
It has, therefore, been deemed desirable to provide an automated economical solution that meets the needs of corporations with a substantial travel expense component.